The 1st match of the 3 matches T20 International series between South Africa and England was played on November 27, 2020, at Newlands, Cape Town. England team was captained by Eoin Morgan, and Quinton de Kock had handled the captaincy of the South African team.
England won the toss and elected to field first. T Bavuma and Quinton de Kock opened the inning for South Africa. It was not an expected start for SA as T Bavuma got out on 1st over the inning to Sam Curran. He made only 5 runs. Faf du Plessis came to bat on the number 3 position. Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis balanced the South African inning, and they made a partnership of 77 runs for the 2nd wicket. Chris Jordan broke the partnership with de Kock's wicket. Quinton de Kock made 30 runs in 23 balls. Faf du Plessis scored a brilliant fifty and made the most 58 runs in 40 balls for South Africa. Van der Dussen also made 37 runs for South Africa. South Africa managed to put a total of 179 runs in 1st inning. Sam Curran bowled brilliantly for England and took most 3 wickets. It was a target of 180 runs for England to win this match.
Jason Roy and Jos Buttler opened the inning for England. Quinton de Kock gave the ball to debutant George Linde in 1st over of the match, and he impressed his captain with a wicket on his 2nd ball in international cricket. Jason Roy got out on duck, and Dawid Malan came to bat for England. Jos Buttler also got out early on 7 runs to Lungi Ngidi. The score of England was 34/3 in 5.3 overs. Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes played brilliant knocks for England. They made a partnership of 85 runs for the 4th wicket. Ben Stokes got out on 37 runs to T Shamshi. Jonny Bairstow did not lose his focus with Stokes’ wicket, and he continued playing quality shots. Captain Morgan also got out on 12 runs. The required run rate was nearly 10 runs per over, but Bairstow handled it with his best skills. Jonny Bairstow finished the game with a huge six and made not out 86 runs in 48 balls. Hence England won this match. He smashed 4 sixes in his inning. Jonny Bairstow was the game-changer of the match for England.
England once again showed how many match-winners they have in the squad. Jonny Bairstow was selected as player of the match for his brilliant match-winning performance.